Works from four auteurs -- Sweden's Lasse Hallstrom, France's Laurent Cantet and Costa-Gavras, and Iran's Bahman Ghobadi -- round out the competition lineup at September's 60th San Sebastian Film Festival.

Their latest films underscore contrary currents now invigorating world cinema.

Making its first festival outing, "The Hypnotist" is Hallstrom's first film in his native Sweden since 1987. Financier Svensk Filmindustri, which pre-sold "Hypnotist" worldwide, aims to create a crime thriller franchise based on the books of Lars Kepler (the pen name of husband-and-wife team Alexandra and Alexander Ahndoril) that follow police detective Joona Linna, recruiting various Scandinavian directors.

Inversely, Cantet's "Foxfire," based on Joyce Carol Oates' bestseller about a girls' gang in 1950s America, is the helmer's English-language debut. His previous film, "The Class," won Cannes' Palme d'Or in 2008. "Foxfire" was produced by Cantet's regular producer, Haut et Court, and pre-sold by Memento Films Intl.

"Rhino Season" opens new doors for Ghobadi. Braking with his previous, more political films, pic turns on a personal vendetta and features Ghobadi's first Western star, Monica Bellucci, as the wife of an incarcerated Kurdish-Iranian poet.

"A human drama-thriller," in Costa-Gavras' words, "Capital" sees one of the world's most established auteurs suggest how the world is run by a limited group of shareholders, particularly those controlling banks. Produced by Michele Ray Gavras at Gavras' Paris-based KG Prods., pic stars Gad Elmaleh as the new head of Europe's biggest investment bank, which faces a U.S. hedge fund buyout.